1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a frozen product of raw or boiled noodles of Japanese buckwheat (soba).
2. Description of the Related Art
In boiled noodles, a proper resistance to the teeth, i.e., a certain level of stiffness with a sufficient elasticity, is generally demanded and medium or rather-hard wheat flour having a relatively high protein content is used as a main material. To improve the feel in eating, for example, potato starch, waxy cornstarch, tapioca starch, etc. are added to wheat noodles (udon) for increasing glutinosity, and vital gluten separated from wheat flour is added to Chinese noodles and soba for increasing the resistance to the teeth. Also, an agent for improving the noodle quality is proposed in which viscosity-increasing polysaccharides, whey minerals, and starches are mixed with whey protein.
Meanwhile, recent widespread use of microwave ovens has increased the number of kinds and the amount of frozen products. However, when noodles are frozen, icy crystals grow during preservation in the frozen state, which eventually causes separation of free water. This raises a problem that starch contained in the noodles deteriorates and the stiffness of the noodles is lost.
In commercially available boiled noodles of Japanese buckwheat (soba), because a long time is required for the production process in a factory and the distribution process after the production, the feel in eating is remarkably reduced during such a long time. Also, it is known that, in the case of eating soba in soup, for example, since noodles are dipped in the soup too long, the noodles are too softened, whereby the feel in eating is deteriorated and the taste is degraded. Further, there are quick-cooking noodles that can be cooked just by heating them with a microwave oven or hot water, or by mixing an attached source or soup with the noodles before or after heating them. Those quick-cooking noodles are required to have a long-term preservative ability at the normal temperature, and hence are sterilized under heating in an acidic range. As a result of such sterilization, soba loses its specific resistance to the teeth, i.e., stiffness, and the feel in eating becomes a rather crumbly. In addition, since those raw noodles are subjected to treatment for conversion to α-starch, they inherently contain water at a high content. This leads to disadvantages that the noodles tend to stick to each other, are hard to separate individually even upon pouring of hot water, and are less convenient when eating. Thus, there have been various problems that noticeably degrade the value of noodle products.